Old School 6 - We believe in the Resurrection

We Believe in the Resurrection

The Resurrection is Essential

Romans 10:9–10 NKJV

9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

1 Corinthians 15:12–14 NKJV

12 Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. 14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.

1 Corinthians 15:17–19 NKJV

17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

The Resurrection is Not a Borrowed Myth

Some skeptics level the charge that the story of Jesus’ resurrection was simply borrowed from pagan myths, who had their own “dying and rising” deity stories. So, was the resurrection story basically stolen from pagan religions? Brooke B. McIntire tackles this issue with 3 Reasons:

1. Just because some stories are similar does not mean that one borrowed from another.

A little more than a century ago, a story was first told about a passenger ship that was unsinkable. However, while steaming across the Atlantic Ocean on a clear April evening, it struck an iceberg and sank. And, more than half of its passengers died from a lack of lifeboats. The name of the ship was spelled “T-I-T-A-N .  . .” Yes, “The Titan.” Did you think I was talking about the “Titanic”? That tragedy occurred in 1912. However, I was referring to the fictional story in a novel titled Futility: The Wreck of the Titan, published in 1898, 14 years prior to the sinking of the Titanic.

2. It is utterly implausible that the early Christians would borrow major ideas from pagan myths.

The earliest Christians were pious Jews who often debated over the minutia of the Jewish Law. For example, they debated over whether Jewish Christians were still required to maintain the temple purification rites, whether Christians could eat meat that had been sacrificed to idols, whether non-Jewish male Christians needed to be circumcised, and whether Jewish Christians could even eat in the same room with non-Jewish Christians. Jews believed that they had been chosen by God to be a people separated from paganism. Given this background, it would have been unthinkable for these early Christians with Jewish sensibilities to engage in wholesale borrowing from pagan religions for the foundational belief of their own new sect.

We must decide whether or not Jesus actually was resurrected from the dead based on the evidence. And there’s a lot of evidence.... (https://breakpoint.org/is-the-resurrection-story-borrowed-from-pagan-myths/)

His Body Was Not Stolen

One of the charges made against believing the Resurrection is that Jesus Body was Stolen by His disciples. This view doesn’t even attempt to explain Christ’s appearances. The disciples could not steal the body from trained Roman guards. A Roman guard would have consisted of 16 soldiers. They would have slept in shifts and were under the penalty of death if they allowed his body to be taken. There was also a 1 to 2-ton stone in front of the door which could not have been moved secretly.

Christ did not “Swoon”

The Swoon Theory (also called the Resuscitation Theory) The Swoon Theory, first proposed in 1828 by H. E. G. Paulus, a German theologian and critic of the Bible, claims that Jesus did not die. Rather, suggested Paulus, Jesus merely fainted on the cross, from pain, shock, and loss of blood.

First: Crucifixion - The arms are pulled apart and nails are driven through the wrist into a cross beam that is raised in place.  This dislocates the shoulders.  The nails in the wrists sever the median nerve resulting in a burning pain as well as paralysis in the hand.  To breathe Jesus had to press upon the nails in His feet, scraping His raw back on the wood.  The body gradually drains of blood causing the heart to beat faster and faster.  Dehydration is occurring.  The breathing becomes more labored and intense as well as frequent, adding to the agony.  The blood loss results in extreme thirst as the body craves water to restore the lost blood. Jesus said, “I thirst” (John 19:28).  The heart beats so hard trying to compensate for the loss of oxygen (due to the lack of blood) in the body, that it eventually ruptures.  At this point, the chest cavity fills with fluid.  The soldier pierced Jesus’ side and out came blood and water, signifying that the heart had stopped beating and the blood was settling in the chest cavity.  Jesus was dead.

Second: The Tomb - The tomb was cold, dirty, and Jesus laid in it for three days without medical attention.

Third: The Burial - Jesus’ body was wrapped in linen (Matt. 27:59).  This wrapping was done tightly around the whole body from head to toe.  We see from the resurrection of Lazarus, that Lazarus had to be unbound (John 11:44) since help was needed to get out of the linens.

Fourth: The Stone - The stone weighed 1 to 2 TONS. It would have been imposible for a single man, let alone one who had been beaten, crucified and run through with a spear, to move it.

The Resurrection is Believable

Acts 1:1–3 NKJV

1 The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2 until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, 3 to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

The Greek word translated as “infallible proofs” is τεκμηρίοις (tekmēriois), a technical term from logic1 that refers to that which causes something “to be known in a convincing and decisive manner, proof” (italics in original).2

So what are these infallible proofs of the Resurrection? Before answering that question, consider what it would take to convince you that someone was alive again after dying. Of course, the best evidence would be an opportunity to spend time with that person again—you could see him walk and talk, and you could eat with him. That’s precisely what Luke is referring to here. After being crucified, Jesus showed Himself alive by appearing to the disciples on several occasions. He walked with them, talked with them, and ate with them.

Combining the data from various New Testament books, we know that Jesus appeared to some of His followers on at least ten occasions before ascending to heaven. Determining the order of the following appearances is beyond the scope of this article, so I have listed them according to Dr. Elizabeth Mitchell’s article, “The Sequence of Christ’s Post-Resurrection Appearances.” (https://answersingenesis.org/jesus-christ/resurrection/infallible-proofs/)

He was Seen

Mary Magdalene (John 20:11–18)

The other Mary, Salome, Joanna, and at least one other woman (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:1; Luke 24:10)

Peter (Luke 24:34; 1 Corinthians 15:5)

Cleopas and another disciple on road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13–35)

The eleven disciples minus Thomas (Luke 24:36–43; John 20:19–25)

The eleven disciples (John 20:26–29)

Seven disciples at the Sea of Tiberias (John 21:1–23)

Disciples at a mountain in Galilee (Matthew 28:16–17)

James (1 Corinthians 15:7)

Disciples, possibly in Jerusalem before He led them to the Mt. of Olives, gave the Great Commission, and ascended into heaven (Luke 24:49–53; Acts 1:3–11)

He was in a Physical Body

In most instances, Jesus did more than just appear before people. Christ’s words in John 20:17 seem to imply that Mary Magdalene clung to Him, indicating that He could be touched.

The other women worshiped Him and held Him by the feet (Matthew 28:9).

He broke bread in front of Cleopas and an unnamed follower (Luke 24:30).

He showed His scars in His hands, feet, and side and then ate fish and a honeycomb before the gathering of disciples without Thomas (Luke 24:40–43; John 20:20).

Later, with Thomas present, Jesus invited Thomas to touch His hands and His side (John 20:26–27).

At the Sea of Tiberias, He performed a miracle, allowing the disciples to catch 153 large fish (John 20:6–11).

He also cooked and ate some food (John 20:9, 15).

Paul claimed that Jesus had appeared to over 500 people at one time (1 Corinthians 15:6). This may be an additional appearance, or it may be the same event as the one on the hillside in Galilee (Matthew 28:16–17). (Ibid)

1 Corinthians 15:1–9 NKJV

1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

The report in 1 Corinthians 15 is probably the earliest extant [still in existence] writing about the Resurrection appearances, penned around AD 55. Paul claimed that he was writing what he had received. What was the source of the message that Paul preached? It could have been given to him directly by Jesus (Galatians 1:12), although here he was probably referring to his meetings with Peter and James in Jerusalem within five years of the Crucifixion and Resurrection (Galatians 1:18–19).3 Paul wrote that he went to “see Peter” (v. 18). The word translated as “see” is from the root ‘ἱστορέω (historēο), which refers to inquiring for the purpose of coming to know someone or something, 4 and from which we derive our English word history.5 So Paul told the Galatians that he not only received his message from Jesus, but also had it confirmed by Peter and James. Even the critical scholars acknowledge that Paul received this teaching within a few years of the death of Jesus.

Some skeptics claim that the idea of the Resurrection was simply a legend that grew for several decades before being written down. 1 Corinthians 15:1–9 smashes this objection. Not only is five years much too short a time for such a legend to develop, but Paul cites a bunch of eyewitnesses “most of whom [were] still alive” (1 Corinthians 15:6, ESV). Essentially, he told the Corinthians, “Hey, if you don’t believe me, then go ask one of these guys.”

Skeptical Witnesses Were Converted: James and Saul

The Lord’s appearances to James and Paul are especially relevant to historians. Critics have often alleged that the original disciples were in such a malaise that they simply had hallucinations. This proposal is wracked with its own problems, and it still fails to account for Christ’s later appearances to James and Paul.

James was the half-brother of Jesus, and he remained a skeptic throughout the Lord’s earthly ministry (John 7:5). At one point, he and his kin claimed that Jesus was “out of His mind” (Mark 3:20–21). While on the Cross, Jesus entrusted the care of His mother to His disciple John rather than one of His half-brothers, indicating that James likely had not yet come to believe. Yet soon after Jesus ascended to heaven, James was counted among the believers (Acts 1:14), and became a leader in the Jerusalem church (Galatians 2:9). What could account for this dramatic change? In all likelihood, he was convicted of his unbelief and believed in Jesus after seeing Him alive following His execution.

Paul is just as formidable a witness to the Resurrection. He was not a blind follower but the early church’s most feared persecutor. Yet after confronting the risen Lord, Paul was transformed into perhaps the most influential Christian in history. He endured tremendous persecution, including imprisonments, floggings, beatings, and even stoning for his faith. The only plausible explanation for Paul’s changed life was his encounter with the risen Savior on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1–9).

The Transformation From Fearful to Fearless

Christ’s appearances to His original disciples led to another evidence for the Resurrection—the transformed lives of these frightened men. When Jesus was arrested, they fled for their lives. Yet less than two months later, they boldly proclaimed the Resurrection in front of thousands of Jews (Acts 2:23).

Out of fear for his life, Peter denied even knowing Jesus three times and attempted to disprove his conversion by cursing and swearing. He seperated himself from the disciples and went back to his previous occupation as a [commercial] fisherman.

Yet, after seeing the Risen Jesus, Peter , was the one who boldly stood and preached on the Day of Pentecost. Declaring this to the same unbelieveing Israelites that he was hiding from less than 2 months earlier:

Acts 2:22–24 NIV

22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.

Later, Peter was imprisoned multiple times, yet he continued preaching about the risen Lord until his martyrdom. According to tradition, all the disciples except John were martyred. The only reasonable explanation for this transformation is precisely what the Bible teaches—they knew Jesus had died but saw Him alive again (and were filled with the Holy Spirit).

I could go on and on with proofs of the Resurrection, but I need to the Word the Lord gave me for you today. That Word is a question that was presented by the Angel who appeared to the women at the tomb:

Luke 24:1–12 NKJV

1 Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2 But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. 3 Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. 5 Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, 7 saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ ” 8 And they remembered His words. 9 Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles. 11 And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them. 12 But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened.

Why are Your Looking for the Living Among the Dead?

People keep pursuing Dead End things trying to find life in them.

Material Posessions - 2 Great Disappointments in Life

Bitterness and Revenge

The High - Drugs, Alcohol, Success, Acclaim, Recognition. This week, Rapper DMX has been in the news. He had a heart attack due to an overdose of drugs and is on life support. I ask you to pray for him. He had all those “highs” - a current net worht of 10 MILLION Dollars, but was obviously still searching. Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues and jazz. She was highly acclaimed winning multiple awards and selling millions of Albums. Yet she died of alcohol poisoning 10 years ago. Does this only happen to the well known? No! Does it only hapen to those who don’t know of the promises of God? No!

The Daughter of poor, missionary parents, ALIA JOY writes: I wanted nothing to do with faith. That changed the night I tried to take my own life.

“The rain in Pahoa fell in constant sheets, pounding on our metal roof like an assault. And I took it as just that: a personal attack. I sat on our back porch—a slab of concrete with a tin covering—listening to the rain pinging like rapid gunfire while I dragged hard on my cigarette. This was my personal hell.

Reconciling these years of poverty and pain with a loving and merciful God seemed impossible. I could not believe in a God who continually abandoned us. I hurt everywhere. I fit nowhere. Home wasn’t a place I could feel.

And yet, I met God there one night. Or God met me.

It had been raining for 42 days straight when I considered taking my own life. I had no transportation, no license, and no hopes of getting one anytime soon. I was miles away from civilization and as sober as I’d ever been.

In Albuquerque, I had learned to silence the torment I felt inside. I didn’t know I had bipolar disorder; I just knew there were times my skin tingled with restlessness, my limbs seemed possessed, and my feet tapped out a Morse code. I felt invincible, immortal, immune to hunger and thirst and the incessant demands to slow down, to sleep, to recharge. My mind was a colony of secrets and schemes. But it’s an unfortunate law of the universe that what goes up must come down.

That night in Hawaii, blind with tears, I started ransacking the bathroom medicine cabinet and rifling through drawers. I decided it was time to quiet that steady hum once and for all. I wanted the shadows to disappear and the voices to stop, and I believed that death was the only way.

My hand shook as I picked up the flimsy disposable razor. I held it over my skin, trying to build up the courage to make the deep cut. I had flirted with death before, but just enough to blow my hair back, just enough to make me feel the tiniest bit alive. In that moment of desperation, I cried out to God: I never asked to be born! I never asked for any of this!

Never did I imagine that God would answer me. But he did. I found myself silenced, barefoot and open palmed, splayed like an offering across the floor. I was ready to take my own life and instead found myself laid out by God—physically knocked to the floor and flooded with a peace that to this day, I cannot fully describe. I felt the resuscitation of grace.

After that night, however, I began to make excuses. Maybe God reveals himself to desperate girls on chipped linoleum floors in the middle of a monsoon and says, “You belong to me. I have loved you with an everlasting love. You are mine.” But that was all too much for me to fathom. I wanted something to explain away the very real and terrible possibility that God existed and that he wanted something from me. I thought perhaps it was my body’s response to all the stress hormones and my legs had just given out. But even with all of my justifications, I couldn’t deny that I felt something I had never felt before. I felt God.

My parents had given me a Bible I never used and instead wedged under a tiny garage-sale table in my room to make the legs even. I pulled it out and began to read it at night behind my locked door. I didn’t want my parents to know. I didn’t want my dad to say, “I knew God had a call on your life, Alia Joy.” I didn’t want any spiritual I-told-you-so.

My bed was a rolled-out length of eggshell foam—the kind you put on a real mattress (should you actually have a mattress)—and not thick enough to keep my hips from falling asleep and aching through the night. As I read my Bible, I was confronted with questions and fears. I’d lie in the dark with God and whisper prayers into the void, hoping someone was there answering me back. Like Jacob wrestling with God through the night, this grappling changed my identity and renamed me.

In the Book of Genesis, when Jacob first prays for protection and deliverance from Esau, he prays to the God of his father Abraham and his father Isaac. After he wrestles with God and his prayers are answered, Jacob erects an altar with his new name, Israel. He names it El-Elohe-Israel, which means “God, the God of Israel.”

When I wrestled with God, he brought me to that same place of weakness. This weakness didn’t leave me more vulnerable before my enemies, real or imagined. Instead, it taught me that, even though we all walk with unsteady feet, we can rely on the God of our fathers and more than that, on the God who reveals himself directly to us, a God unmasked, a God who lets us grab hold of him in the darkness. In these times of wrestling, we might find ourselves transformed. We might feel the touch of God dislocating our hip as dawn breaks. God might take us to the ground.

I came back to life in that home that wasn’t a home. It was the place where I met Jesus and the place where I learned that I’d always been called.”

There is something that happened to the women at the tomb when they considered the Question from the angel:

Luke 24:8 NKJV

8 And they remembered His words.

Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV

11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Matthew 11:28–29 NKJV

28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Isaiah 40:29–31 NKJV

29 He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, 31 But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

Philippians 4:19 NKJV

19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:37–39 NKJV

37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.